In a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material (which may be referred to simply as a “light-sensitive material” hereinafter) using subtractive color processes, a color image can be formed from dyes having three primary colors, i.e. yellow, magenta, and cyan. In color photography using a current p-phenylenediamine-series color-developing agent, a β-acylacetanilide-series compound is used as a yellow coupler. However, the hue of the yellow dye obtained from this coupler is reddish, and it is difficult to obtain a hue of yellow having high purity. This dye has a small molecular extinction coefficient. Thus, in order to obtain a desired developed color density, a large amount of the coupler or silver halide is required. Therefore, the film thickness of the light-sensitive material becomes large, so that the sharpness of a resultant color image may drop. Such problems are caused. Furthermore, the above-mentioned dye is easily decomposed under high temperature and high humidity conditions, and the image storability thereof after development processing is insufficient. Thus improvement in this point is desired.
In order to solve these problems, the acyl group or the anilido group has been improved. Recently, the following have been proposed as improved couplers of conventional acylacetanilide: for example, 1-alkylcyclopropanecarbonylacetanilide-series compounds as described in JP-A-4-218,042 (“JP-A” means unexamined published Japanese patent application); cyclic malonediamide-type couplers as described in JP-A-5-11416; pyrrole-2 or 3-yl- or indole-2 or 3-yl-carbonylacetanilide-series couplers, as described, for example, in EP-953870A1, EP-953871A1, EP-953872A1, EP-953873A1, EP-953874A1 and EP-953875A1. Dyes formed from these couplers have improved hue and an improved molecular extinction coefficient, compared with conventional dyes. However, their image storability is still insufficient. Moreover, the synthesis routes of the couplers are long, since their structures have been made complicated. Thus, costs of the couplers are high. For these reasons, the couplers are not practical.
Research Disclosure Item 9939 (page 74, 1972) and JP-A-52-148070 describe couplers having a 2,4-oxazolidinedione structure. However, these couplers are unsatisfactory to solve the problems of the conventional couplers in both hue and a molecular extinction coefficient of the resultant dye.